


Reconnecting

by afteriwake



Category: Bleach
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2012-10-15
Updated: 2012-10-15
Packaged: 2017-11-16 08:36:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,771
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/537548
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/afteriwake/pseuds/afteriwake
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It took his death for them to be friends again, and more.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> For **kanjo_girl** ’s prompt “Rukia & Uryuu – you’re new in town now.” I couldn’t fit my idea all in one part, so this will be a multipart fic. I may toss in other pairings and characters, but other than an update on what the human characters are doing this will mainly focus on Ishida and Rukia (and maybe Byakuya a bit).

“Ishida-kun. Ishida-kun.” There was a pause. “Wake up, Uryuu. Please?”

He knew that voice. He knew it well. It had been a few years since he had heard it, though. But it was still one of the loveliest sounds he'd ever heard. He opened his eyes. He knew he wasn't wearing his glasses because he didn't feel the comfortable weight on his face. But he could see her clearly. Perhaps if you died wearing contacts your spiritual body wore them as well? Or maybe when you died you were made whole and healthy? These things could wait until later, because right now he was staring up at Rukia Kuchiki.

He had missed her. He had never admitted it, but he had. When Kurosaki stopped seeing spirits and Hollows and shinigami she had not come back. He had been angry at Kurosaki, so angry. But after time it had worn away, back to the same grudge he'd always had. And then Ichigo had gotten new powers, and she still didn't come back. Ishida could have sworn she would, and then the grudge against Ichigo became a grudge against Rukia, albeit one with less heat. She had to have known they all missed her, right? Not just those who had fought with her, but the others, their other classmates. And then he had moved on, because that was the only thing he could do. But he had not forgotten. “Kuchiki-san,” he said quietly, and was rewarded with a brilliant smile that lit up her violet eyes.

“Urahara-san said you had died, and we went to search. Nii-sama had his squad look, and Captain Ukitake and Captain Kyoraku, too. I am so glad we found you.”

Only then did he realize she was looking straight down at him, and his head was next to her knees. “I died,” he said, realizing that his voice didn't sound quite right. Maybe that was a change from life to death, too.

“Yes,” she said with a nod. “A bus accident.”

“I don't remember it,” he said, sitting up. He nearly collided his head with Rukia's, but she pulled back just in time. “Where am I?”

“At the Kuchiki manor, as my honored guest,” she said. “Nii-sama is going to let you stay here until you figure out what you want to do.” What to do...? Ah, yes. What to do with the rest of his eternity. But he didn't have enough time to think before she opened her mouth again. “Are you hungry?”

He thought for a moment, and then nodded. “Yes,” he said.

“Good!” she said with a clap of her hands. “When you get hungry, it means you have great spiritual pressure.”

“But, Kuchiki-san,” he said. She looked at him intently. “Those with high spiritual pressure become shinigami, right?”

She nodded. “In most cases, yes.”

“I will not become one,” he said quietly. “They helped wipe out the Quincy.”

She pursed her lips in an O, and then nodded. “I had forgotten,” she said, bowing slightly from her kneeling position. “You do not need to become a shinigami. I believe Nii-sama will let you stay here for a while, even if you do not intend to join the Gotei 13.”

“Thank you,” he said, closing his eyes and laying back down.

“Rest some more, Ishida-san,” she said quietly.

“Kuchiki-san?” he said as he began to slip back into sleep.

“Yes?”

“You may call me Uryuu,” he said quietly.

“And you may call me Rukia,” she said, touching his cheek gently for a moment before getting up and leaving the room. And that was the last thing he heard before sleep overtook him once again.

\--

When he awoke again she was there. He had no clue how long it had been, only that it was dark outside now. He could tell because lamps were lit and it filled the room with a soft glow. He sat up and looked at her. “How long was I asleep?”

“About five hours,” she said. “I can have food brought for you now, if you want.” Ah, yes. The hunger pains were what had woken him up. He nodded, and she got up, went to the doorway, and a few moments later came back. “Some food should be here soon.”

“Thank you,” he said.

“I talked to Nii-sama,” she said. “As long as you are my guest, you may stay here, even if you do not join the Gotei 13. He accepts that you are a friend of mine, and you are important to me.”

He looked at her. “If I’m important to you, why didn’t you return to the world of the living?”

She looked at him, and then sighed. “I became a seated officer, and I had duties that prevented it. But I kept an eye on all of you, through others who went, and Urahara-san.” Then she smiled slightly. “I had just had some time freed up to go when we got word that you had died. I wanted to see everyone, if they were all there. I know Sado-kun is not, but Inoue-kun and Ichigo are.”

“You got a promotion?” he asked.

She nodded. “With everything that had happened, Nii-sama withdrew his objection to my having a seated position. I am now Lieutenant of the 13th Division, because Captain Ukitake did not want either of the 3rd seats to have the position. That is why there was so much for me to do. I know it has been three years, but…well, my Captain is ill, and he is not doing as well as hoped after the Winter War. I have spent a lot of time helping him when he gets overly tired, which happens more frequently than before.”

Ishida smiled at her. “Congratulations.”

“Well, now that I know you’re okay I will pay a visit to the world of the living soon. Urahara-san passed along my message to Ichigo that we found you and the reasons why I have not visited, and I got a response that he and everyone else would love to see me again.” She paused. “They want me to attend your funeral, but…I am not sure about that.”

“I think I would like you to,” he said with a slight smile. “It is not often one gets to hear about his own funeral.”

“Very well then,” she said with a nod. “I will depart tonight.” She stood up. “Rest, and if you need anything just let one of the servants know. I will be back in four days.”

“Thank you once again,” Ishida said.

She smiled at him. “I would do this for any of my friends,” she said. She went to the door and then paused. “I missed you,” she said quietly. “It will be nice to spend time with you again.” And then she left, leaving him alone to thoughts of how that statement could be interpreted. Then he shook his head as he waited for his food. It would not do to dwell on such a simple statement.


	2. Chapter 2

The four days went by at a decent rate. Byakuya came in and talked to him for a little bit, offering him the use of the manor's library to keep him occupied until Rukia returned. He also warned him not to do anything improper or he would be tossed out like unwanted trash. After he left Ishida smiled a bit at that. Even after three years it seemed as though Byakuya's number one concern was his sister and her well being.

He did spend hours in the library, simply reading. Byakuya had an immense library, full of many interesting books, not just from Soul Society but from the human world as well. He chuckled slightly to himself when he found the small stack of shojo manga on one of the tables. That was obviously Rukia's section of the library, and he found himself spending more time there.

He also wandered around the grounds of the manor. It was a peaceful place, a good place to rest and think about his plans. He had some idea of how Soul Society worked. When Rukia had come back with Renji and the others to combat the Arrancar they had talked. It had always been nice to talk to her. It was one thing he had greatly missed in the three years she had been gone. There were other things as well, but it was nice to have someone to talk to who understood everything that had happened and was not hung up on one aspect or another.

Now that he was in Soul Society, his plans for his life had been dashed. No more university for him. No family, not that he talked to his father much. No friends, except for Rukia and perhaps Renji. In fact, word had been sent to the manor that Renji was looking forward to renewing their friendship. While they had never been particularly close, or at least not as close as Renji had been to Ichigo, it was nice to have someone else welcome him there. But that still left him at a loss as for what to do with the rest of his afterlife. He sorely wished Rukia would come back.

It was on the evening of the fourth day that there was a knock at his room. He opened the door and saw Rukia standing there, a huge bag on the ground beside her. “I brought some of your things,” she said. “Inoue-kun went and picked out what you might want the most.”

“I shall have to send her my thanks,” he said, picking the heavy bag up.

“Don't you want to see what she sent first?” she asked.

“Whatever it is she picked, it was probably important. She'd been over to my home enough to know.”

“I thought she and Ichigo...” she said, trailing off.

He chuckled slightly. “They are. But she and I remained close friends, after everything. When he was busy saving Karakura Town and she was having a particularly bad night she would go to my apartment and we would stay up and talk until Kurosaki came to collect her.”

“Yes, she mentioned she still has nightmares.”

“Not just of Hueco Mundo, but of Tsukishima,” he said with a sigh. “Hopefully Arisawa-san will be able to take my place. She knows about everything that happened, even if she didn't live through it. It may not be the same, but hopefully it will help.”

“Sado-kun was there for your funeral,” she said. “He came back from Mexico. He asked me to give you something.” She reached around her neck, and then pulled up a cord. On it was a Mexican coin. “He said it had always given him luck. He thought you could use it here.”

She offered him the necklace and he took it, fingering the coin lightly before clenching his first around it. “I shall have to thank him, too,” he said quietly.

She looked around. “I see that nii-sama got you a bed,” she said with a smile. She went over and sat on it, running her hand on the blanket.

“He told me that this room was mine until I decided to leave, and you would want me to be comfortable. I always preferred a bed to a mat.”

“I will thank him for that,” she replied. He brought the bad over to the bed and set it on top. He opened it and began to rummage through it, pulling things out. Rukia watched as picture after picture came out. He paused when he saw an old black and white photograph of a lovely woman. “She's beautiful.”

“That's my mother,” he said softly, tracing the outline of her face on the glass with his finger. “She left when I was young to travel to Kyoto, to attend a lecture. The train she was on derailed and she died. I was only seven. And then my grandfather died shortly after that.” He picked up a photo he'd set down and showed it to her. “This was the last photograph my mother took, of the two of us. She was a skilled photographer.”

“It's a very nice photograph,” she said with a smile. She set it down carefully and picked up another one. “Is this from your graduation? Inoue-kun had the same picture. I saw it when I visited her apartment.”

He nodded. “One of Kurosaki's sisters took it. She gave all of us a copy before we all drifted apart.”

“You're actually smiling,” she said with a slight laugh. “I thought you would always have a serious look on your face.”

“Inoue-kun told me a good joke right before the picture was taken,” he replied. “I never got most of her jokes but that one, it was a good joke.” He pulled more items out of the bag, included carefully folded white clothing. “My Quincy uniform.”

“Did you wear it again after Hueco Mundo?” she asked.

He shook his head. “No, not very often. Most of the time when I fought Hollows I did so in regular clothes, until Kurosaki got new powers. And then I only fought Hollows if they interfered with my life. Kurosaki was happy to take care of the problem again when he was able.” He set it to the side and pulled out a small box, opening it up and looking at the threads and needles with a smile before closing it and setting it down.

“Urahara-san is going to send along more of your things, like your books,” she replied. “He was arguing with your father over it.”

“If my father had his way he would sell everything and expunge my memory from the world,” he said bitterly. “Was he at my funeral?”

She shook her head slowly. “No, he was not. Ichigo's father made all the arrangements, with Inoue-kun's help. Your father wanted nothing to do with it, from what I understood, and Isshin thought that was unacceptable.” She paused. “Ichigo was going to have words with him over your belongings as I was leaving. He was going to make sure you got them even if he had to beat your father to a pulp.”

A ghost of a smile drifted on his face. “Typical Kurosaki, always looking to start a fight.”

“I put one thing in the bag,” she replied, opening it up and pulling it out. She handed the wrapped package to him. He unwrapped it carefully and saw his glasses. “I know you can see fine without them here, and that you were wearing contacts when you died, but I thought you might want them.”

“Thank you, Rukia,” he said quietly. “Did you know Inoue-kun helped me pick this pair out?”

“I did not know that.”

“I had broken my old pair and I hadn't gotten contacts yet, so she took me shopping to pick out a 'cool' pair of glasses. I humored her and bought these. I don't think I wore them more than a handful of times. I found I liked contacts more once I got used to them.” He set them carefully on the table by his bed. “I appreciate you thinking that I would like them back.”

She put her hand on his arm after he had set them down. He paused and looked at her intently. “I...” she paused. “Have you given any thought as to what you want to do?”

“I have,” he said. “I will not become a shinigmai, but...I had been planning to become a teacher, when I was done with university. I am wondering if there is a chance I can do that here.”

She smiled warmly at him. “Many of the servants here have families. Perhaps you can teach them.”

“I would like that,” he said with a nod.

“Then I will talk to nii-sama tomorrow,” she said with a nod. “I still have three more days before I have to return to work. I would like to spend some time with you, just...I don't know. Catching up.”

“That would be nice,” he replied.

She slid off the bed, then let go of his arm and bowed slightly. “Good night, Uryuu.”

“Good night, Rukia,” he said, bowing back. She hesitated for a moment, then leaned up and kissed his cheek softly before hurrying out of them room. He stared after her at the now closed door and reached over to touch his cheek gently with a sense of bewilderment before returning to the task of going through the items Inoue-kun had packed for him. It was making the ache of leaving the living world less noticeable.


End file.
